“The Devil Went Down to Georgia” writer died July 6, 2020 at the age of 83. In case you had not heard. He was a huge influence on me in the days when classic rock was just rock ‘n’ roll blasting out of the radio. Most of the articles I have been reading talk about how he was a country music star. That’s not how I remember him.
Classic Rock Icon
The year was 1979 when the Million Mile Reflections album came out with that hit song. Lynyrd Skynyrd had suffered the loss of members of their band from a plane crash in 1977. We were all still feeling that gap in our music while bands like Molly Hatchet, Blackfoot and The Charlie Daniels Band were filling the void. We called it Southern Rock at that time and spent many hours learning the riffs that flowed from those albums.
The Rossington Collins Band formed out of the remaining members of Lynyrd Skynyrd and hit the road opening for Charlie Daniels. I caught their show at a place called The Capitol Center in Largo, Maryland. The place was a sports arena with the acoustics of an enormous bathroom but what a show! I almost could not believe I was seeing these two bands as they were that big in my mind. My date was unimpressed. However, it wasn’t long before the 80’s dawned and everything seemed to change overnight.
Many influences, one band
As you listen through the Million Mile Reflections album, you have to notice the wide variety of styles exhibited. My older brother learned the first cut, Passing Lane, for his band as a rocking showcase for the members of his band. There is a break in the middle where each instrument takes a solo break. That was new to me and sounded as cool as it looked played live.
There is a swing styled tune called, Jitterbug, that reminded me of some of the music my mother loved from old musicals. My mother was unimpressed 😉
Additionally, there are a couple of ballads and a jazz inflected song rounding out the collection that I could not get out of my head – Rainbow Ride. Of course, there is the Bluegrass blowout of The Devil Went Down to Georgia. I didn’t know anybody who could play violin/fiddle like that so the song went uncovered by my brother’s band and my bands. I learned it just the same as it is so cool!
Eyes and ears opened
So much ground covered in one album! Charlie Daniels managed to expose me to several styles done in his own magical way. I could start to see how I could incorporate variety like that into my own playing. It also opened my eyes to dig into other music to…dare I say it, learn from them? My collection veered from mostly Beatles to add more Charlie Daniels, Elvin Bishop (mentioned in The South’s Gonna Do It Again), and Allman Brothers.
Today
My family has a reunion every year at an old Catholic retreat center around a lake in the woods. The place is as rustic as it gets with all of the trimmings: cabins, dirt roads, hamburgers, hotdogs and a campfire. My wife encouraged me to bring my guitar and play when everyone gathered around for the fire and ‘smores in the evening. I had begun to build up a repertoire as I mentioned in another post but I needed some stories for the kids. You probably know of many story tellers in music to draw from but I wanted a ghost story. What’s a campfire without a good ghost story? I knew just where to go: Full Moon – The Legend of Wooley Swamp. Perfect!
Dig through that catalog! It’s not just country music, there’s a little bit of everything in there. He has great stories, songwriting and music every bit as good as The Devil Went Down to Georgia.
Oh and, by the way, don’t forget to join us as we learn Just 2 Play Guitar. Just click the Learn More link above and do just that! Maybe we can play The Legend of Wooley Swamp together around a campfire someday.